WHO AM I?
How would you answer that question? You would start with your name. Maybe your marital status. Your job. You might say if you had children. If there was still an awkward silence, you might fill it with listing your hobbies. Would you then blurt out, ‘I’m a Christian’?
How would children answer that question? Do you think that their answers should be different from their unbelieving friends’ answers? Can the Bible really tell us the answer to our defining question?
The spirit of our age tells our children they can create their identity. They can decide who they are. They can be whoever they want to be. According to the world, ‘If I feel it, it’s true’. They are the masters of their future, they are told.
Our children are being asked to create themselves in our culture’s image. That is not freedom, that is a burden. The better story is that they have been created in their maker’s image. Their loving heavenly Father has already said who they are. The Bible story tells them the truth. They can find out who they were made to be, who they are and even who they will be. Once they understand these truths, they can confidently make decisions and live life to the full.
The spirit of the age sounds so appealing. It may even seem loving but it is not true. Our children’s hearts are at risk. We might feel overwhelmed, alarmed by the battle and tempted to just give in. We hear ourselves responding negatively to the world’s message by pointing out where it is wrong. Yet actually, we have a better story to tell; one of redemption, hope, and purpose. We have the best, most uplifting story to give to our children.
God is a loving heavenly Father who adores our children. His children. He tells them, ‘You are precious because I made you’, ‘Your body is good because I made it’ and ‘You have infinite value because Christ died for you.’ If they know and feel God’s love they will trust and obey him more fully.
Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ JOHN 8:31–32
‘Who am I?’ is a resource written by Faith in Kids and gives children the Bible’s answer to the question. And that is what we have been doing at Kids Club this term. It has been really great!
